U.S. Department of Treasury removes sanctions against Tornado Cash, TORN token jumps over 60%

In a press release on Friday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that it has lifted economic sanctions against Ethereum mixer Tornado Cash.

The press release said, “We remain deeply concerned about the significant state-sponsored hacking and money laundering campaign aimed at stealing, acquiring, and deploying digital assets for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Kim regime.”

OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) has also separately released a list of 100 ETH addresses being pulled out of the ‘Specially Designated Nationals’ list.

Following the announcement, the TORN token jumped by over 60% to a price of $14.06 at press time.

Earlier in 2022, the Treasury Department restricted US citizens from using Tornado Cash and transacting with a list of associated Ethereum addresses. The mixing service has long been under scrutiny for helping hacking groups like North Korea’s Lazarus to launder funds from various thefts.

Last November, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the notorious mixer, stating that Tornado Cash’s smart contracts were not the ‘property of a foreign national or entity’ due to which they cannot be blocked under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.